BEST PRACTICE SPONSOR 2020
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
54 | ARNOTT EYE ASSOCIATES
have a drink with them at the stern of
the boat. Over a glass of rather awful
Egyptian wine, they asked me to take
over the practice when Eric turned 70
in 1999.
A new boss
In May 1999, after a period of
introduction to the patients, I succeeded
to the Arnott Eye Centre in Harley
Street. Unlike many premises in the
medical district in and around Harley
Street, this was in a relatively new
building, and Eric had gutted the space
to create four consulting rooms, a
treatment room, two diagnostic rooms,
a waiting room and twooffices.
The practice was run along American
lines, with optometrists and technicians
helping to prepare the patients for
the consultant. This meant that the
relevant tests and diagnostics had
been done in many cases, so that the
time spent with the consultant could
be more focused and relevant to the
individual patient’s needs.
After the takeover, the existing
consultants felt that a name change
was appropriate, so the practice
became Arnott Eye Associates.
Thiswas to reflect the fact that
although I owned the practice, it was
very much a joint effort in terms of
providing medical excellence in our
chosen subspecialties. The number
of consultants gradually grew, and
we were able to deal with diseases
of the front and back of the eye,
tear duct and oculoplastic issues,
and eye diseases in children. Another
positive aspect was the availability
of emergency services due to the
premises being staffed every day of
the week. This was and remains very
popular with GPs all over London.
Due to Eric Arnott’s worldwide
reputation, we were able to build a
client base – both embassy-referred
and private patients – from much
of the Middle East, west Africa,
India, Pakistan and southern Europe.
Sometimes the waiting room looked
like a branch of the United Nations.
We all got very good at working
through interpreters too. This diverse
mix of patients has continued,
together with a strong UK-wide
patient population. Since its opening,
the Arnott in its various iterations has
treated well over 70,000 patients.
Time for another change
In 2017, when I reached 70, I
felt it was time to hand over the
management reins, although I did
not want to retire per se. Optegra Eye
Health Care, which owns eye hospitals
and clinics all over Europe, bought
Arnott Eye Associates in September
2017 and the next phase of the story
began. Optegra wanted to further
expand their offering in central
London, where they provide vision
correction with laser and intraocular
lenses as well as comprehensive
ophthalmology. We fitted the bill.
The facility in Queen Anne Street
that Optegra ran as their flagship eye
hospital in London was just around the
corner from the oldArnottpremises.
Itmade a large difference: when
Optegra opened the Optegra Eye
Hospital London in 2015, the only
part of the building that had been
left intact was the old 19th-century
The Arnott Eye
Associates reception area
Since its
opening, the
Arnott in its
various
iterations has
treated well
over 70,000
patients
“
“
55ARNOTT EYE ASSOCIATES |
façade. Behind this, they had
fashioned a brand-new eye hospital.
In the basement was a laser refractive
suite, above which were two floors of
outpatient consulting rooms, treatment
rooms and diagnostic facilities. Above
that were two fully equipped operating
theatres in which most eye surgery
could be performed. The patient
rooms were on the next floor and
administration above that.
The whole thing is truly impressive
and has drawn very positive comments
from the patients who had known
the previous premises. Since moving
across to Optegra, we have been
joined by a number of high-quality and
enthusiastic colleagues, of whom Eric
would be proud.
What the future holds
What does the future of Arnott Eye
Associates look like? As I continue to
embed Arnott into Optegra, we are
focused on continuing to serve our
referrers’ needs, and we are about to
begin some exciting new initiatives.
These include cataract surgery,
leading to the potential for spectacle
independence; treatments for dry eye
disease, which – with increasing screen,
tablet and phone use – has become
an epidemic; and lumps and bumps
around the eye. We will of course
continue to have retinal, glaucoma and
oculoplastic specialists on the team. We
will continue to service our overseas
patient base as before.
One increasing challenge for UK
patients who have private insurance
is being able to choose the consultant
and the hospital. The restrictions most
insurers have now built into their
policies mean that patients are only
permitted to see consultants and go to
hospitals chosen by the insurer. Very
often, this means that patients can
access only those who charge the least,
who are generally less experienced
consultants. We see this as a disservice
to patients, who are entitled to the
very best treatment.
We are confident we can offset this
challenge given our reputation built up
over many decades of excellent service,
combined with the stunning new
five-star facilities from which we work
– not to mention Optegra’s investment
in the very latest technology and high-
quality ophthalmic equipment.We
are in a strong position to treat the
A to Z of eye health. The future is
bright and exciting for our consultants
and our patients, wherever they may
comefrom.
We have been
joined by a
number of
high-quality
and
enthusiastic
colleagues
“
“
Richard Packard’s consulting room
showing some of his awards
Standard consulting room with a
view of Queen Anne Street
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
